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Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers

The ec-H20 technology from Tennant (Minneapolis, MN) electrically converts water into a cleaning solution for most cleaning applications. The water is first passed through electrified screens in the oxygenating chamber, creating an energetic solution made of highly oxygenated micro-bubbles.

Hydrovane (Redditch, Worcestershire, UK) has announced its new Hydrovane V Series line of rotary vane compressors. Small, quiet, and affordable, Hydrovane compressors are all direct drive with no belts or gears to maintain. They operate at 1760 RPM’s for low stress, noise, and long compressor life.

Audi and MIT's SENSEable City Lab have teamed up to design the car navigation system of the future--a 3D display that will sit on the dashboard. According to the design team, the new system will be programed to filter real time information allowing drivers to better navigate around a city.
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VALLEY FORGE, PA -- The financial readiness of Americans for retirement has been a focus of attention in the last few years, particularly after the severe stock market downturn of 2008-2009. A new report shows that employees of larger manufacturing companies who participated in their 401(k) or other defined contribution (DC) plan at Vanguard in 2010 tended to have higher account balances than their counterparts in smaller manufacturing company plans and Vanguard plans as a whole.

Honesty compels me to admit, I think a lot of people have their heads in the clouds when it comes to the current relationship between manufacturing and jobs.
Just recently, President Obama earmarked $500 million to spur the development of high-tech manufacturing jobs. Meanwhile, cruise the blogosphere or surf your cable lineup at any point and you'll find any number of people -- from pundits to politicians -- clamoring for a renewed emphasis on manufacturing.

LOUISVILLE, Ga. (AP) — Executives with the parent company of Thermo King in the small Georgia town of Louisville say they will close the plant, which employs 235 people, by next year.
The Augusta Chronicle reports that Ireland-based Ingersoll-Rand will move the Georgia plant's manufacturing line to a Thermo King facility in Hastings, Neb.

Tom Smith, AP
HACKLEBURG, Ala. (AP) — Marion County Commissioner Don Barnwell said rumors about the future of a Wrangler distribution plant that was wiped out by the tornado that hit Hackleburg have everyone "scared to death."
"It seems like every day there is a new rumor popping up," said Barnwell, who lives in Hackleburg and represents the town and surrounding area.

DULUTH, Minn. (AP) — The Georgia-Pacific plant in Duluth has been shut down because it can't replenish its water supply from Lake Superior during the government shutdown in Minnesota.
That means nearly 150 employees are off the job for the duration of the shutdown because the state Department of Natural Resources has suspended the company's water use permit.

Kelly Olsen, AP Business Writer
YONGIN, South Korea (AP) — A study commissioned by Samsung into cancers among six of its semiconductor workers found they were unrelated to exposure to chemicals on the job but the electronics giant is not yet releasing the full results.
U.

Christopher S. Rugaber, Derek Kravitz, AP Economics Writers
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, an encouraging sign that the job market may be slowly improving.
The number of applications dropped by 22,000 to a seasonally adjusted 405,000, the Labor Department said, the lowest level in almost three months.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — A four-alarm fire has consumed a Buffalo, N.Y., plant that makes industrial lubricants, sending up plumes of thick, black smoke and leading firefighters to warn residents to keep their windows closed.
The fire started before 6 a.m. Wednesday at the Niagara Lubricant Co.

CribMaster (Marieta, GA) has announced the CribMaster Weigh Station, a passive issue device that allows for simplified dispensing of bulk-issue items and high-use consumable inventory through the use of computerized scales and bin technology. After the user identifies him/herself on the touch-screen and has taken the needed supplies, the Weigh Station’s will immediately count when an item has been removed or returned.

Bigfoot CMMS (computerized maintenance management system) from Smartware Group (Center Harbor, NH) is a web-based solution to improve facility and equipment maintenance operations. Features include preventative and predictive maintenance scheduling, equipment history tracking and reporting, and asset life cycle and parts inventory managing.

Boeing's 787, its newest passenger airliner, arrived in Japan last week for readiness tests ahead of its entry into commercial service. The 787 is not only the newest airliner in the skies, but it's also the most high-tech.
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OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued 10 violations against a Tyson Foods Inc. meatpacking plant in northeast Nebraska.
The federal agency on Tuesday cited the Dakota City plant for one repeat and nine serious violations following safety and health inspections initiated in May.

BLUE MOUNTAIN, Miss. (AP) — A multi-million-dollar expansion of Oil-Dri Corp. of America plant in Blue Mountain Production Co. will mean 20 new jobs.
Chicago-based Oil-Dri, the world's largest manufacturer of cat litter, will manufacture a new line of Cat's Pride cat litter at the Blue Mountain facility
On Tuesday, company officials celebrated the completion of a $9 million project and the addition of 20 jobs at the Blue Mountain plant.

DETROIT (AP) — Chrysler is recalling more than 242,000 Ram pickup trucks because of a problem in the steering system.
The recall affects certain Ram 1500, 2500 and 3500 pickups from the 2008 to 2011 model years. The Ram is Chrysler's best-selling vehicle.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that a part near the left wheel can fracture and cause loss of steering control, leading to crashes.

Susanne M. Schafer, Associated Press
GREENVILLE, Sourth Carolina (AP) — The chairman of President Barack Obama's jobs and competitiveness council said Wednesday there is no magic potion to jobs creation, but the panel is devising pragmatic plans to put people back to work.
General Electric Co.

DETROIT (AP) — The U.S. Energy Department says it has loaned $730 million to the North American arm of one of Russia's largest steel companies to modernize its Detroit-area plant.
The government and Severstal North America on Wednesday officially announced plans to upgrade and expand facilities in Dearborn that make steel for the auto industry.